Sidelined
by Tibbins
Summary: What would happen if Kurt never went to Dalton? If he stayed at McKinley when Karofsky came back? There is always a calm before the storm but plans are being made, and not all of them good. Set after Furt. Puck/Kurt
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Glee fandom ^.^ I just can't stay away**

**This is just a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. I was going to write it all at once and just have one huge chapter but I thought it could work better like this. So it will probably end up being longer than planned.**

**This fic is set a few days after Furt, but Kurt didn't transfer to Dalton. I sometimes forget who is with who and who broke up with who and all that so for this fic we will assume Rachel and Finn are together, Sam and Quinn are together, Mike and Tina are together and SANTANA AND BRITTANY are together (I KNOW that they aren't supposed to be at this point but I just love them as a couple).**

**I will dedicate the first chapter to my first reviewer ;) Congratulations whoever you will be**

**Enjoy :D**

What happened to Glee being fun? Kurt had to ask himself that question as he found himself once again, sitting at the back of the room, fingers on his temple as he tried to look stylish whilst warding off a headache and watching Rachel Berry prance around in a plaid skirt, knee high gym socks and a sweater that looked as if it had been made from the cat it depicted. Although the sound coming out of her mouth was pitch-perfect, it was also predictable. Another love song dedicated to Finn.  
Kurt sighed quietly to himself. He was _bored_. He was really bored in Glee nowadays. He hadn't actually _sung _anything in weeks as Rachel wanted to perfect her solo and had only recruited the cheerios and Mercedes as her backing singers. Their group number barely included him; all he did was sway in the back and sing the chorus, but his voice wasn't missed when he just stopped singing and began miming instead.  
When he looked around the room he felt separated from all the heated looks and the drama. Rachel and Finn appeared to be lost in each other's eyes; Tina and Mike were curled up, taking up three chairs, Noah was staring at Santana's ass but the Latino was too busy to notice as she winked over her shoulder to Brittany whom Artie was watching enviously while Sam tried to distract him by impersonating someone that Kurt didn't know, Quinn and Mercedes were grinning at each other as they sang and they did that little finger-wiggle as they passed each other as according to the routine and Mr Schue seemed totally absorbed in the performance.  
Kurt just didn't seem to fit in anymore. Glee had always been his place. He was one of the originals after all, he had been there _before _they were good and now he had just faded into the background, with Rachel becoming the star and everyone else branching out to find themselves. Artie had come to terms with his disability, Santana had admitted her love for Brittany, Mercedes had spiced up her flair Mike had discovered his voice and Tina had discovered Mike. But Kurt already knew who he was. _Everyone _knew who he was, he wasn't exactly shy about expressing himself. He adjusted his silk scarf slightly. He just didn't serve a purpose in here anymore. Sure, he could go higher than Rachel and he could kick over his head, but Glee club just didn't need that anymore. It wasn't about talent, it was about togetherness and in that aspect of things, he kind of sucked. Oh, he was a sucker for gossip, he loved a good scandal as much as anyone and if anyone tried to bully his friends, he would knock them back with a quip and a bitchy look. But when it came to the inside matters, he didn't take sides.

Over babygate he hadn't sided with either Noah or Finn. He hadn't really commented on it other than labelling it a juicy morsel of gossip and watching the cat fights that followed. At the time he had been crushing on Finn hard, and everyone had assumed that he was on the tall quarterback's side seeing as he hadn't exactly fought Noah's corner. But really, Kurt had thought that in all fairness, it had been Quinn's fault. After all, Noah hadn't _forced_ her, and although Finn was Noah's best friend and he should have known better Quinn was his _girlfriend_. She had committed to a relationship with Finn and had completely walked over that trust. Plus, she had then _lied _to him about him being the father which completely messed with the both of them. The fact that she had even allowed herself to get drunk off of wine coolers around the biggest sexual predator in the school hadn't exactly been a sensible move. And then she had had the audacity to blame _Noah_? And although Quinn was a friend and he would never say this to her, he genuinely thought that she had been in the wrong. But he held his silence, knowing that being pregnant wasn't actually fun, especially topped with the mess of the baby daddy.

But even the after effects of that whole situation were still showing. The way that Finn sometimes looked at Quinn with a look of disappointment, the way that Quinn would absent-mindedly rub her stomach and then clench her hand into a fist, and the way that Noah sometimes got a faraway look in his eyes, filled with regret and sadness. Kurt wanted to reach out to all of them, but their reactions of anger and rejection wouldn't be worth it. He already got enough crap from the jocks, he didn't need the Glee club turning on him for trying to be nice.

So he sat there in silence and tried not to shudder as Rachel did a spin and Kurt swore that he could see the dead-cat hairs fly from her sweater. He did however wrinkle his nose in disgust and waited for a polite length of time before picking up his bag and leaving the choir room.

_XXX_

Puck watched him go and quietly wondered what was up with Hummel lately, he hadn't been his usual, sparkly self for a while now. All he did in Glee was sway or sit (as if Puck didn't notice the lack of that high pitched whine Hummel called a voice). Not that Puck was concerned or anything. He was just curious why the resident gay kid had lost his spark. A spark that had gained his resistant respect even when throwing the kid in the dumpster. But right now, Hummel was obviously depressed. The dude hadn't worn a hat in a week. He was surprised Finn hadn't mentioned it. After all, Finn ranted to him about _everything_, whether or not he wanted to hear it. So after Glee, Puck tagged along by Finn and asked him about it

'So, has Hummel seemed a little, off to you lately?' Finn looked at him with the exact same look he gave a teacher that asked him a question

'Err... what?'

'Your step-brother man' Puck clarified 'He's not really said much in Glee club lately, he hasn't asked for a solo once'

'And... that's a bad thing because...?' Jeez Finn was slow, Puck resisted the urge to roll his eyes

'Because it's not _normal_ dude. I mean, it is, but it isn't Hummel-normal, something's up' Finn nodded his understanding and then got wide eyed

'Oh God, maybe he's redecorating again' Puck raised an eyebrow at how genuinely terrified Finn seemed at that concept.

'Whatever dude' he said, making his way across the parking lot to his beaten up truck, parked next to Finns, where Hummel was waiting for him in the drivers seat. (they shared rides to save petrol, Hummel apparently was ever the conversationalist, Finn had moaned for an entire day on that one) 'Just keep an eye on him okay?' then he swung himself up into the drivers seat and started the engine.

**So what do you think so far? I've already written the next chapter so it should be up pretty sharpish depending on the feedback I get *hint hint***

**Please let me know ^.^ I really tried to capture the characters in this one. I hope it worked**

**Love Tibbins xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here you are :D**

**Told you I wouldn't be long xD**

**This one is dedicated to the very lovely Junjou-Angel, my first and so far only reviewer :P**

**I don't own Glee by the way**

**Enjoy :D **

Kurt drove his baby home, not even bothering to turn on his ipod, knowing that Finn would plug in his and not caring enough to fight over the song choices. They were about halfway there when Finn spoke

'So... are you okay man?' Kurt raised an eyebrow, not taking his eyes of the road

'I'm fine Finn, thank you for enquiring. Why do you ask?'

'Errr... right' apparently he didn't know what 'enquiring' meant 'Just wondering' Kurt shook off the strange comment and pulled into the driveway. Finn was in the house before Kurt was even out of the car. He shook his head fondly, and jumped down from the drivers seat, he grabbed his bag and shut the door, giving his baby a pat before heading towards his house. Then he heard the squeal of tyres and instinctively turned to face the noise, a jeep rounded the corner, with about six laughing jocks in it and before Kurt could duck, he was spluttering and blinking back urine, a second pee balloon hit his shoulder, another his leg, and the last, hit his chest, successfully ruining his three hundred dollar Marc Jacobs jacket, his satchel and his favourite skinny jeans. He heard the howling of the Neanderthals as they drove away. Kurt spat urine from his mouth, fighting the urge to gag. He stood there for a moment, frozen by his humiliation. Then Burt came running out of the house and stopped as he saw his son covered in pee and bits of rubber. He reddened with anger and his fists clenched and began to shake. Kurt knew that if he cried Burt would only be angrier so he turned to face his father and spoke calmly

'Dad, could you ask Carole to get me a couple of towels please? And lay some in the hall so I won't get pee on the carpet.' Burt was still red faced, but with a prolonged look at his son he pressed his lips together and turned on his heel, shouting into the house for Carole who came out a minute later and draped a large bath towel over his shoulders and handed him a smaller one for his face before guiding him inside. Kurt took care to step on the towels, which led straight into his bathroom. Carole had also ensured clean towels hung on the railings for after his shower. He thanked her and watched her retreat, picking up the towels as she went.  
He closed and locked the door behind her before stripping off his clothes and letting them fall to the floor. He would wash them and then have them dry cleaned before taking them to the charity shop. He was pretty sure he kept that shop in business with all the clothes he donated. He wouldn't wear those things again. He laid his satchel carefully in the corner. That had cost him over five hundred dollars and he had treasured it since he bought it. He looked at it sadly. It was a good thing it was waterproof. All of his work should still be intact. But he would wash and take it to the charity shop too. Whenever things like this happened, he cut out any reminders that it had happened and all things associated with it (usually clothes) would be discarded.  
He stepped into the shower and turned on the overhead jet, getting himself thoroughly soaked. He massaged coconut and lychee shampoo into his scalp. He then rinsed and conditioned and then rinsed and went back to shampoo, just to make sure he had gotten all of the urine out of his hair. After he had conditioned for a second time, he scrubbed his body all over with his spare loofah, so as not to dirty his usual one. Then he shut off the water, took his usual loofah and squirted it with his body wash that smelled of milk and lavender. He lathered up his skin for a good few minutes before turning on the more powerful side jets and the hot water scoured him clean.  
He then stepped out of the shower onto the white tiled floor and reached for the towel on the heated handrail. He patted himself dry before tying the towel around his waist and making his way over to the sink to brush his teeth. Twice, once with his normal toothbrush, and once with the new toothbrush he had bought the other day then he gargled mouthwash and shuddered as he spat it out. Kurt could hear Burt and Carol talking seriously upstairs. He couldn't hear their words of course, but the low mumbling was a good enough indicator. Carole mustn't have closed his door properly as his room was soundproofed. He guessed that he had missed the shouting during his shower. He padded across his room to his drawer and got out a pair of soft, blue, cotton pyjamas. He then donned his dressing gown before going to clean up the bathroom and piling his discarded clothes into a plastic bag, ready to take them to the washer. He then mopped the bathroom floor and scrubbed the shower clean, wanting to get rid of any traces of urine, then he went back to his bed, put on his pyjamas and grabbed his dressing gown and the bag of soiled clothes and took them upstairs to the kitchen, deliberately stepping on the creaky step to warn Burt and Carole of his impending entrance. He acted like he hadn't heard or seen them as he breezed through the living room to the kitchen, but Carole followed him. Kurt opened up the washing machine and chucked in his dressing gown and was just about to open the bag with a wrinkled nose when Carole beat him to it

'I'll do that sweetie' she said gently, taking the bag from Kurt 'you go and talk to your dad' Kurt looked at her and nodded, giving her a small smile before leaving the kitchen to face his father. Burt seemed to have calmed down by now but his face was still set in a scowl

'Who were they Kurt? His father asked, his voice so calm it didn't fool Kurt for a minute

'I don't know dad' he said, equally calmly, only his calm sounded sincere 'I only saw the letterman jackets from that distance.'

'So they're on the football team?' Kurt nodded

'I know what you're thinking' he said quickly 'you want to drive down to the school and get them suspended or expelled. But you can't, they were outside of school property, they can't do anything.

'Was one of them that kid?' Burt asked, out of the blue 'That … Karofsky? The one who threatened you?' Kurt just shrugged

'I told you, I didn't see their faces' this was true, but he had a gut feeling that Karofsky had thrown the first balloon. Still, he didn't want to tell his dad that. So he excused himself and went to go and help Carole with the dinner, determinedly not looking at the washing machine. He still remembered when he had told Burt that Karofsky had threatened to kill him, as soon as the words were out of his mouth Burt was gone, out of the room and across the hall to slam the football player against the wall. Kurt had felt fierce love for him in that moment. Although he didn't want his dad to get into trouble he was really glad to know that he would have done it for his son if he hadn't stopped him. The thought made him smile. Although he hadn't been smiling when the school board had let him back in.  
Karofsky seemed to have learned his lesson though; he had pretty much ignored Kurt whenever he passed him in the corridor and some of the fear of him had ebbed away, which was why he now found Glee club boring, he just felt that seeing as nobody actually needed to protect him anymore, they forgot about him. Noah's idea of a perimeter had been sweet and had lasted a day before Karofsky had been very obvious about his lack of interest, and although he had noticed Noah tailing him a little more than was usual, he had assumed that everyone had given up due to lack of danger and moved on. He wondered if Finn had noticed anything, he hadn't seen him since he disappeared into the house. But Kurt didn't want to seem like he was attention seeking. It's not as if Finn didn't have enough of that in his life with Rachel as his girlfriend, so instead he sat silently at the dinner table, picking at his chicken until Burt blurted it out in anger

'Is anybody going to _talk _about what happened?' Finn looked up in astonishment

'What happened?'

'My son got hit with pee balloons in front of our house Finn! That's what happened'

'What?' Finn looked confused, then angry 'What the hell?' he turned to Kurt 'Who were they?!' Kurt opened his mouth but Burt beat him to it

'He didn't see 'em but they had on those red and white letterman jackets'

'The _football _team? But...'

'I thought you were going to protect him from them Finn!' Burt said heatedly, rising with his hands on the table

'Burt' Carole chimed in, trying to pull her husband to his seat

'We tried!' Finn said loudly, desperate for Burt to believe him 'we completely tailed him the first day Karofsky came back but the guy wasn't interested y'know? Like he didn't come near Kurt at all, so we kept an eye on him but none of the jocks have been near him in school so we thought it was safe and -'

'Dad' Kurt said quietly, interrupting the quarterback, Everyone looked at him and Burt sat down heavily 'Finn's telling the truth. The entire Glee club was looking out for me but none of the jocks seemed to care any more. We thought that they had all gotten spooked by Karofsky's expulsion. I haven't even been slushied since he came back so the Glee club backed off. This is the first hint of anything. They've probably been planning it. It's really not that big of a deal' Kurt said, he delicately speared a piece of chicken with his fork and popped it in his mouth.

'Not that big of a deal?' Burt said, going to rise again but Carole put her hand on his arm

'Honey, they attacked you in front of our home!' Kurt raised an eyebrow

'This isn't the first time they've thrown pee balloons' he said, looking pointedly at Finn who looked away guiltily 'and last year they nailed all of our lawn furniture to the roof so really, this is nothing. Please don't make it into a big deal' Carole went to say something but caught herself last minute and she stopped, biting her lip. Finn just stood from the table and excused himself to his room. After about a minute, Kurt did the same and retreated to his basement. He was glad that the balloons had been aimed at him rather than his baby, he wouldn't have really liked to wash his car right now. He sat down in front of his vanity and lost himself in his moisturising routine before crawling into bed early. He didn't sleep for at least another hour. He knew that Karofsky had been behind this, and now that the no-bullying streak had been broken, Kurt didn't want to think of what could be in store for him tomorrow.

_XXX_

Puck's phone beeped at him and he growled a non-committal threat before pausing his video game and picking it up

_Dude, sum futball guys thrw pee bloons Kurt, outside the hwse _

Finn was never a particularly good speller. Puck thanked the Jewish lord for autocorrect, as Finn wasn't a particularly good _reader _either when it came to texting and autocorrect saved him a lot of confused replies

Then he actually noticed the content of the message and he gripped his phone tighter. Bullying the kid in school was one thing, at his own home was another. Not that Puck hadn't taken part in that before, after all the furniture-roof incident was legendary, and pee balloons weren't exactly new to Hummel either. He decided that he was getting angry about nothing. After all, he wasn't actually _hurt_. He just felt like he should have done something, they were all in Glee and they had to stick together right? But then again, he had been keeping an eye on Hummel in school. It was Finn's job to look out for him at home.

_He OK?_

He waited a minute or so for the reply. It was a perfectly normal question. After all, Hummel was prissier than anyone about his clothes and getting hit with pee balloons wasn't exactly fun … in Hummel's experience anyway.

_He ws relly calm bwt it, I thnk hes fine_

Puck rolled his eyes. Finn was too used to surface emotions. He didn't seem to have realised yet that all of Hummel's surface emotions were fake.

_We need to get the perimeter back tomorrow_

At least then they could keep a lid on things. Karofsky hadn't done anything to Hummel since he got back. Honestly, as smug as he was that his idea was working he couldn't help but feel uneasy. The jocks were definitely plotting something, none of them had so much approached the gay kid with a slushie.

_Kurt wnt like tht_

Puck sighed, Finn was right on that at least. Hummel was proud, and accepting the perimeter in school after it had been disbanded wouldn't be easy for him.

_Just me and you then, keep him tailed all day_

Doing that they could at least keep an eye on him

_k_

Sorted. Puck put down his phone and un-paused his game.

**So ... what do you think so far? This is as far as I've gotten at this point so it may be a while before I update :P I also have a Merlin fic to finish (if you watch that, feel free to check it out) and I go back to school tomorrow :(**

**Please review and let me know :)**

**Love Tibbins xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello guys and gals, welcome to the third chapter of your favourite Glee fic ;) I kid**

**This one is quite short :/ It's kind of a filler chapter and despite it being past midnight I'm in a good mood so it's relatively cheerful and actually rather cute ^.^ I was just very aware that I haven't updated in a few days**

**Unfortunately I am back at school :/ which means more work and less fanfiction :( I apologise in advance**

**I don't own Glee**

**This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful JasonDragon64 and the very lovely Junjou-Angel who are frequent and amazing reviewers of mine so a huge thank you to you both ^.^**

**Enjoy :D **

Kurt jumped out of his baby with less enthusiasm than normal, even though the presence of Finn beside him kept the fear away, he was still apprehensive of what Karofsky, Azimio and the others were planning. And they were planning something. They sneered at him as he passed the dumpster and shouted

'Come and join us homo!' Kurt was about to reply with a simple 'I'd rather not' but Finn's gentle prod kept him silent; head forward, he didn't spare the Neanderthals another glance

'You're with me and in public. They won't try anything' Finn said confidently. Kurt nodded and smiled at his step-brother, not wanting to ruin the moment by mentioning the tiny fact that they knew where he lived and that Finn wasn't in half his classes. Instead he walked to his locker, Finn gave him a pat on the shoulder as he passed by, his own locker was halfway down the corridor. Then suddenly, Noah was next to him, leaning against the adjacent locker with that bad-boy half smile that always made Kurt nervous as it gave the impression of both flirting and impending dumpster dive at the same time. He also did that casual hand-through-mohawk move as if he'd been practicing

''Sup Hummel?' Kurt raised an eyebrow

'I see, so you are Finn's backup plan' Noah frowned as Kurt took out some books and closed his locker

'No way, dude' he said, falling into step beside Kurt 'he's _my _backup plan' he grinned 'you have to admit, it makes sense. I think between us we cover all of your classes'

'Look' Kurt said as they neared the math rooms 'I appreciate the sentiment but if you continue to talk to me outright like this then you'll be getting it as bad as _I_ do.' Noah just shook his head

'Whatever man, since I'm looking out for you at all I doubt it'll make much of a difference' he went to push open the door

'Wait' Kurt said, incredulously 'You're actually _coming _to math?' Noah snorted at Kurt's expression and shrugged

'I'm not tired' he said nonchalantly 'besides, Azimio's in this class too' he gestured to Kurt to go first (Kurt appreciated chivalry even if he wasn't a girl) and as Kurt passed him he gave a small smile and a whispered

'Thank you'

Hummel almost looked shy as he smiled at him, Puck reflected about ten minutes into the lesson, by which time he had already tuned out the monotone drivel of the teacher out front. He watched the boy next to him in his peripheral vision. Hummel was leaning forwards slightly, looking between the teacher and his math textbook, tapping his pen against his bottom lip which was the only sign of his inner tension and could be confused with boredom or thinking, but given the boy's wide-eyes when he had not only entered the classroom but sat _next _to him, he was tense. It seemed that Hummel wasn't used to people wanting to be anywhere near him outside of Glee. Especially guys, _especially_ Puck, and given the almost frantic pen movement, he was nervous and edgy. Puck decided to test this theory by shifting slightly closer to Hummel, giving him a better view of his math book and his reaction, which was a flinch. Puck chuckled under his breath

'Chill out Hummel' he murmured 'I'm just gonna copy off you' Kurt glanced at him and then at his blank math book, and although his face was set in a sarcastic expression, his cheeks were tinged pink from the embarassment of showing a weakness

'Uh- huh' he said sarcastically, looking pointedly at the blank pages in front of him 'you haven't even copied down the formula' Puck shrugged

'I don't get it'

'I'm not surprised' Hummel shot back 'you haven't been listening' Puck just winked, smug when the blush spread to the tips of Hummel's ears. It was cute, in a girly kinda way. Then Hummel turned back to the front and jotted down a few numbers … and letters. Jeez, who decided to put letters into math? As if it wasn't hard enough. This was why he never actually _went _to math, 'cause he couldn't tell if he was supposed to do sums or write an essay. Puck huffed and rested his elbow on the desk and his chin on his fist, staring morosely at the front, on his next breath in he caught a scent wafting off Hummel, it was like coconut and something sweeter that he couldn't really define. Then he felt something poking him in the arm and looked down, Hummel had slid his math book over so Puck could copy it, he was still facing forward but Puck could see a gleam in his eye that he hadn't seen before, it was playful, relaxed, Puck hadn't seen Hummel this relaxed since ... when? Ever? Nonetheless, Puck couldn't stop the grin that spread slowly across his own face. As he took up his pen and began to write, Puck felt like they were sharing something; an inside joke. As he copied down things he didn't understand he saw actual words at the bottom of the page

_Need a tutor? _

Puck grinned and scribbled back

_Definitely_

Once he had copied everything he slid the book back over, Kurt glanced down at it, almost imperceptibly and then his eyes flickered to Puck's and he smiled.

**So... what do you think? Do you like Noah's little slip up at the end? Calling him Kurt instead of Hummel?**

**Personally I thought it was cute ;) just a little bit of filler fluff. I'm only thinking that If I ramp up the UST now then later on it could come in handy plot-wise :P**

**Please let me know thoughts and opinions, I love hearing what you think!**

**Love Tibbins xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello lovely, awesome people ^.^**

**I'm trying to keep a steady stream of chapters so neither you nor my Merlin followers will have to wait for too long. I apologise in advance for delays.**

**I don't own anything**

**This one is dedicated to fenomena for your lovely review (and I haven't decided if you 'assume' correctly or not) ;)**

**Enjoy ^.^**

After class, Noah followed him back to his locker where Finn suddenly materialised. Noah gave him a pat on the shoulder and a

'Later Hummel' before continuing on down the corridor. Finn was in his all of the same lessons through till lunch where both Finn and Noah escorted him to the cafeteria. By this time, Kurt was beginning to feel like a kid on his first day of kindergarten, hiding behind his mother, hoping that the terror would go away, it was embarrassing. He didn't want Karofsky and Azimio to think that he was so scared of them that he had to rely on his brother and his best friend to protect him; he wasn't a coward, so by lunch his lips were pressed tightly together as he refrained from yelling that he could fight his own battles. The only thing that held him back was the knowledge that they were only looking out for him.

Azimio had thrown a crumpled piece of paper at him in class when Finn was distracted with trying to get a coherent explanation from Brittany of how mitosis happened. Kurt had turned to glare at the jock who grinned sinisterly and mimed opening it. Kurt just scoffed in derision and shoved it in his pocket to bin later. As they entered the cafeteria and passed the bin by the door, Kurt pulled it out of his pocket and dropped it in the bin, in full view of the football team. Kurt threw their table a look of defiance, and met Karofsky's eye for a split second before heading to get food, Noah and Finn behind him. Kurt picked an empty table and Noah sat opposite, giving Kurt a look that made him feel like he had forgotten to take his moisturising headband off.

'So, what was all that about, Hummel?' he asked, Kurt glanced around to see Finn still deciding over which pasta sauce to get

'What was what about?' he said, popping a baby corn into his mouth, Noah raised an eyebrow

'Don't play dumb with me Hummel' he said sternly 'I mean that stuff by the bin with that bit of paper, I saw you look over at the collective brain cell' more specifically, he had seen Kurt give them a look that said _bring it_, and along with the fierce pride he felt for the brave counter-tenor, he couldn't help but think that it was a bad idea for Kurt to challenge the football team right after that stunt with the pee balloons.

Kurt flushed slightly but met Puck's eyes

'In biology, Azimio threw a note at me when Finn wasn't looking. I didn't read it and put it in the bin so that they could see it, that's all.' there was a spark in his eyes as he spoke 'I won't play along any more' he said, his jaw set determinedly 'I've spent too long being scared of those Neanderthals and taking all of their crap. I'm not going to read their stupid, homophobic, atrociously spelled notes too!'

'What now?' Finn slid into the seat next to Hummel, oblivious as usual. Kurt shrugged and nibbled delicately at a celery stick

'Nothing' Puck said, but he subtly fished the note out of the bin as he passed anyway, he stuffed it in his pocket and caught up to Finn and Hummel for Spanish next.

About halfway through he excused himself to go to the bathroom where he smoothed out the note

_Dear fag _(it read)

_After homo explosion be by the bleachers without the bodygards _

_If you dont come, or arnt alone, it will only be worse for you_

_Dont be late_

Puck felt the bile rise in his throat as he viciously tore up the note and scattered them in one of the toilets and flushed them. Although he was glad that Kurt hadn't read the letter, he was worried about what was meant by 'worse'.

He had no idea how many of the football players were in on it so he couldn't exactly rally the Glee guys to put themselves in danger.

As he hurried back to Spanish class his mind was whirling, he took his seat, barely aware of the fact that he was trembling with anger. Finn put an arm on his shoulder

'You okay bro?' Puck just nodded stiffly. Thankfully Mr Schue left him alone for the entire lesson. He looked at he boy next to him, answering Mr Schue's question in fluent Spanish and hoped against hope that him and Finn not leaving Hummel alone for a second would deter anything 'worse' from happening.

**I know it's kinda short but is it ok?**

**What do you think? I'm actually trying to advance the plot a little in this one ... baby steps ;)**

**Please let me know thoughts/feelings/etc :D**

**Love Tibbins xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here you are you amazing people ^.^ the next chapter without too long a wait**

**I don't own Glee**

**This chapter is dedicated to both Junjou-Angel and JasonDragon64 :D Thanks guys, love you ^.^**

**Enjoy**

Kurt walked to Glee flanked by Noah and Finn as he had been all day. So far, nothing had happened aside from the note. They had passed Karofsky in the corridor who gave the counter-tenor a glare but otherwise ignored him. He had noticed varying looks from the other jocks though, from malicious to 'subtle' and he had the uncomfortable feeling that they were planning something, something that involved him. But he held his head high and glided through the hallways in true Kurt Hummel ice queen bitch fashion (and his fashion was _always _superb) Kurt took his usual seat at the back of the choir room. Finn took his place between Rachel and Quinn (ironically) and Noah dropped into the chair next to him nonchalantly, as if that was his routine. Kurt shot him a look of surprise and whispered to him as Mr Schue bounded in with far too much enthusiasm for one with such an extensive collection of vests.

'No one's going to mess with me in here Noah' he said, leaning slightly towards the mohawked teen 'there's no need to sit there' Noah adopted a wounded look

'Don't you _want _me to sit here?' he said, placing his hand on his chest as if the comment physically hurt him. But the grin gave him away. Kurt rolled his eyes and focussed on Mr Schue (who was speaking about something or other to do with music) deliberately ignoring Noah, and the fact that he _really_ wanted to laugh when Noah _kept _staring at him with those 'wounded' eyes; Kurt pressed his lips together, fighting the bubble of laughter that threatened to spill from his mouth. Finally he couldn't hold it any longer so he leant sideways and hissed

'Is that how you get all those girls to sleep with you? Well sorry Noah, but the puppy dog eyes don't work on me. You have to at least buy me dinner first' then he slipped him a wink and straightened up in his seat, going back to resolutely staring at Mr Schue (who was repeating the same point he had made the day before, and some time last week). But in his peripheral vision he saw Noah's eyes widen like Santana had just taken her top off

'Dude' he whispered 'that's not what I meant … I … I'm not gay!' Kurt just raised an eyebrow.

Puck had a sudden feeling that he had just been a huge jerk. So he say back for a minute and then grinned

'Okay' he murmured under his breath as he fished out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and scribbled a note to Kurt who took it with a confused and slightly suspicious expression

_Breadstix tonight after Glee? I'm buying_

Hummel read the note and then blushed, Puck chuckled quietly which earned him a glare. Then Kurt met his eyes with a shy smile and Puck winked and sat back. Only for them both to collectively groan as Rachel opened her mouth.

As Berry babbled on and on, Puck thought about after Glee. This way he could keep an eye on Kurt and keep him away from the bleachers. At least, that was _one_ of the reasons. He shot a glimpse at the counter-tenor who was leaning back in his chair, staring blankly at Berry as she began to sing, something akin to jealousy in his eyes, but it was subtle and barely there. Puck guessed that Hummel was annoyed that he hadn't really had a chance to sing lately. Come to think of it, Kurt _never _got solos in Glee except for the occasional line. The last time that Puck had actually heard Kurt _sing_ was when his dad was in a coma and he was a 'special circumstance'. Schue never let him to the forefront. Sure his voice was weirdly high and girly but the kid was _good_. Puck would bet that if he could out-sing Berry. Almost _had_ he remembered suddenly. He had always had his suspicions about Hummel blowing that last note. There had been a look in his eye about halfway through the song that was part regret and part hurt. Even though he was killing the song at that point so he couldn't have possibly _known _was going to lose, unless he was going to _make_ it happen. Puck looked at Kurt with a new found interest. He added that to the list of things to ask Hummel if he ever got the chance.

After Glee Kurt walked over to Finn and gave him the key to his truck with a massive reluctance. He looked mournfully as Finn almost skipped out of the choir room with everyone else. Then he turned to Puck

'If he totals my baby I'm holding you personally responsible' Hummel said. Puck just laughed at the torn expression on his face and offered the boy his arm

'Shall we go princess?' he teased. Kurt glared at him and ignored his arm but nodded and walked out next to him, Kurt said that he needed to stop by his locker so Noah went with him and was incredulous when he pulled out a neatly folded outfit in a plastic cover. Kurt just rolled his eyes at Noah's face

'Well, you didn't expect me to go out wearing this did you?' Noah gaped

'You've been wearing it out all day' he pointed out. Kurt looked at Noah as if he was a child who didn't understand the fact that the moon was not in fact following him

'Exactly' he shuddered 'this is a school day outfit, it's been worn. This' he shook the bag 'is clean and fashionable' Puck just narrowed his eyes slightly as if squinting might make Hummel seem less ridiculous

'Whatever, dude' he said, deciding that arguing the matter would result in them getting nowhere fast 'Just go change, I'll wait here'

'Well I wouldn't want you to watch' he said as he pushed open the door to the toilets, then he stopped halfway in 'You haven't bought me dinner yet' then he winked as he ducked inside. Puck shook his head fondly and smiled at the eccentricities of Kurt Hummel that he found kind of adorable. Especially coupled with the jokey flirting that he felt he could fall into as he could with a girl. When Hummel emerged from the bathroom Puck once again offered his arm with a

'Come on then princess, your chariot awaits' this time Kurt took it hesitantly and Puck was once again reminded of how little he was physically _touched_ by people his own age, Sure he was close with the black chick but they seemed to have been distant lately for no discernible reason and Finn limited his contact to a clap on the shoulder or the occasional quick hug if he had been particularly douche-like, Hummel just wasn't used to contact that didn't end in being covered with garbage. Well, Puck planned to change that. He kept hold of Kurt's arm as they walked to his beat-up truck, then he opened the door for him which Kurt smiled at and then he scooted around to the drivers side and hopped in. When they had both closed the doors Puck looked Hummel over

'So' he said with a grin 'once I've bought you dinner, what exactly am I entitled to?' Kurt laughed as Puck revved up the engine and backed out of the car park. Trying to ignore the letterman jackets that were visible from there, swarming around the bleachers.

**So... things are getting cuter and tenser at the same time? Am I right?**

**Please keep your reviews coming in. I eat reviews and without them I will starve and die and then there will be no more fanfics from me D: **

**Love Tibbins xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello Gleeks :D I'm doing pretty well with updates at the moment, I've already written most of the next chapter**

**This one is mainly dedicated to JasonDragon64 and I would like to reinforce that only the first bit of this chapter (and some of the next) should actually happen on a date :P good luck ^.^**

**It is also dedicated to dataworf because I loved your review :D**

**Thank you to everyone who fed me ^.^ **

**Characters don't belong to be but I promise to play nicely (fingers crossed)**

**Enjoy :D**

'So' Noah said with a smirk as Kurt delicately spooked chocolate cream cake into his mouth (he might as well take advantage of Noah's offer of free food and worry about the calories later) 'does dessert allow me extra privileges?' Kurt smiled demurely back

'Of course' he said lightly 'you get the pleasure of my company as you drive me home' Noah pretended to pout

'I was going to take you home anyway' he mock-grumbled. Kurt just stuck his tongue out and grinned. He was doing that a lot tonight, he noticed, smiling and laughing. He was having fun flirting with Noah. It was the first time he'd actually flirted with a guy who didn't call him a fag for it. But Noah understood, it was all a game, a joke, and it was funny.

Puck was having a good time he mused at he stabbed at his pancake, it was going a long way to calming his nerves and helping to ignore that annoying niggle in the back of his mind. Even though it was almost 7, he didn't want to part from Kurt, he had a bad feeling at the thought and besides, he was enjoying the boys company. He was sarcastic and funny and some of his one liners made Puck snort into his milkshake. He _liked _Kurt, he realised suddenly, and not in the 'best friend's little brother' kind of way, but in the 'if he had boobs he would be trying to get into his pants' kind of way, but it wasn't even that. Although he liked Kurt's almost-painted-on pants very much (so the kid had a great butt, so sue him) he liked _Kurt _even more. When he asked the counter-tenor a question, he genuinely wanted to hear the answer, he actually _valued_ his opinion. Combine that with the butterflies in his stomach every time Kurt flirted with him and the result was a natural flow of comic and almost sensual banter. Almost as if it had been scripted. Or written my some creepy-ass fangirl who should really be studying instead, but Puck didn't care. His stomach fluttered whenever Kurt winked playfully and as he paid the bill and walked with him to the truck, he realised that he hadn't once thought of Kurt as 'Hummel'. Once again, he opened the passenger door for Kurt and got in the drivers side, because he had been brought up right and he was a damn gentleman. As he started the engine, his phone buzzed. Puck huffed in annoyance and ignored it. But the sound seemed to irritate Kurt because he reached into Puck's pocket and took the phone out

'May I?' he asked, waiting for Puck to nod in assent before unlocking the phone and reading the text to stop the buzzing 'It's from Finn' he said 'He's asking if I'm okay' Kurt tapped out a reply, presumably something that would reassure Finn that he was indeed alive and well(fed). The phone buzzed again a minute later and Kurt again read the text. Puck waited for a moment for Kurt to read it out, but he didn't; he glanced at the counter-tenor who had gone pale and his eyes filled with anger and hurt

'What?' he asked alternating looks between him and the road 'What's wrong?'

'Just take me home Puck' he said quietly. Puck was startled, and now worried, Kurt had _never _called him Puck before, and definitely not recently... it had always been Noah.

'Kurt' he said slowly 'what does it say?' Kurt sniffed and then answered, using big words as he did whenever he was trying desperately to hold onto some measure of control

'I will omit my brother's atrocious spelling but it reads 'Some ass-holes spray painted the door. Keep Kurt away'

'Shit' Puck said, pulling the car over and killing the engine

'What are you doing?' Kurt cried 'I _said_, take me home!'

'No way' Puck argued, 'you don't need to see that' Kurt tried to roll his eyes in an aloof manner, but really it just looked angry

'It's not like I haven't seen it before' he said heatedly, tears beginning to form in his eyes, which were at the moment, an appropriate stormy grey 'this isn't the first time they've come to my house and violated my privacy. I've been covered with piss, beaten up, had horrible phone calls, watch my _dad _answer those calls, disgusting names and suggestions, dumpster dives, slushies, swirlies, patriotic wedgies, unwanted advances and judgement from _everyone _since I was six years old! Do you know what happened when I was eight? My mom died. The last time she saw me, I was crying because some freaks had tried to drag me away from her and perform an exorcismon me! We were driving home and some stupid drunk driver …' Kurt's tears were falling freely now as he yelled at Puck 'I watched my mother _die _because of me! If those creeps hadn't decided to cure the little faggot we would have stayed at the mall longer and missed that driver.' he pressed a shaking hand to his mouth and began to sob hysterically, occasionally interjecting the odd 'my fault' and 'sorry'. Puck didn't know what to say, he wasn't one for words, never had been, but he knew what to _do_. He unbuckled both their seatbelts, jumped out of the truck and lifted Kurt down, holding him up as his legs gave way, one hand under Kurt's arm to steady him, the other on the back of his head, gently holding him to his chest, and just let him cry, stroking the boy's hair and making soothing sounds.

Kurt eventually calmed down and pulled back, embarrassed. Noah tilted his chin up with a finger and dabbed at his face with a dry corner of his shirt 'sorry' Kurt mumbled wit a watery smile

'It's okay' Noah said gently 'I deserved it'

'Huh?' Kurt said, confused; Noah lowered his shirt and let go of Kurt's chin, taking his shoulders instead

'The swirlies, dumpster tosses, wedgies, slushies, pee balloons, furniture, names and even one or two of the phone calls were me. I was involved in them Kurt, I _organised_ most of them. So if I can apologise by letting you use my shirt as a snot rag then I'll take it and apologise some more. I am truly sorry Kurt, for everything I have done to you' he was staring into Kurt's eyes, needing the boy to see how sincere he was. Kurt looked back, eyes honest and open

'I forgive you' he said quietly. And he did, in his mind, Puck had redeemed himself by sticking up for him, buying him dinner, making the perimeter and doing his best to protect him. Noah smiled softly

'Thank you' there was silence for a moment, charged with an energy that neither of them acknowledged, before one of them remembered just _why _Kurt had been crying his eyes out 'still want me to take you home?' Kurt nodded meekly and got back into the truck. The rest of the drive was silent.

**So what do you think? I was going to make this chapter extra long but I thought that splitting into two might work better. **

**Please feed me reviews D: my tummy is making rumbles**

**I really wanna know what you think so please tell me ^.^**

**Love Tibbins xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello you wonderfully patient people ... I am a terrible, terrible person for neglecting you for so long :( **

**Hopefully an extra long chapter will make up for it?**

**I'm really sorry guys but I've been stressing over school and I have to apply for student finance soon and I got distracted by parties and shiny objects and boys and I haven't really been in the mood to write... but I did! And here is proof that I love you!**

**I don't own any characters, names, places, original plot etc etc, Ryan Murphy and various other people do**

**Dedicated to JasonDragon64 AND GAARA12223, thank you, thank you and thank you again!**

**Enjoy ^.^**

Puck's hand clenched tightly on the steering wheel as he turned into the Hummel-Hudson driveway and was greeted by the red spray paint

_A fag lives here_

Kurt snorted.

'Original' he muttered before getting out of the car and going to inspect the damage, eerily calm compared to ten minutes ago. At that moment, Finn emerged, lugging tins of paint, starting suddenly when he saw Kurt

'Kurt!' he exclaimed, dropping one of the paint tins which Kurt picked up and squinted at in the fading light 'what are you doing here? Puck! I told you to stay away!' Puck shrugged and decided not to mention the meltdown, Kurt would kill him if he did

'He read the text man, sorry. Want some help?' he didn't wait for an answer before going to crack open a tin

'Wait!' Kurt cried out 'Finn! _White_ paint won't cover the red! It'd need like, twenty coats and we don't have time for that, it's getting dark already. Let's stick with red. It's about time we repainted the door anyway, take this back' he gave the tin back to his brother who was gaping like a goldfish so that Puck almost laughed 'and get some red'

'Red?' Finn repeated. Kurt rolled his eyes

'Yes, Finn' he said slowly 'red paint, in the shed, go' Finn shuffled off obediently and Puck followed to help carry, saluting Kurt with an

'Aye, Aye princess as he passed'

When they got back with the tins (a lot of rummaging had occurred and Puck absolutely did _not_ trip over a wheelbarrow and land in Kurt's tiara collection) Kurt had changed into coveralls and was laying out two painting trays and three brushes on a hastily erected pasting table. Puck used a screwdriver to open one of the tins, he ignored the painting trays and just dunked a brush into the paint and set to it, laughing at Kurt's squawks of annoyance and flicked his paintbrush at him, splattering him with red drops. Kurt shrieked and retaliated in kind.

By the time Burt and Carole had returned from dinner (seven month anniversary, Kurt had left a post-it in his dad's work diary) all three of them were laughing hysterically and covered with red paint, Kurt was doubled over, holding his sides whilst Finn and Puck seemed to be having some sort of fencing duel with the brushes, paint flying everywhere. At least the door had been fully painted so although Burt and Carole knew immediately what had happened, they were spared the sight of it. It was even better when Burt grabbed Kurt's fallen brush and tried to join in until Kurt shrieked that he would get paint all over his new suit. Carole sighed and laughed fondly at her four boys before going to fetch the newspapers. She knew that Kurt had needed this, he had been so tense and sad lately, and Burt had been worrying. It was good for them all to let go of all their problems, just for a little while.

After Finn had cleaned up, he gave Puck some clothes that he could wear on his way home. Puck thanked him and went down to Kurt's room, Kurt having offered the use of his shower, of course, Kurt was using it now but he would wait. Sure he could always go upstairs but he didn't want to traipse paint all over the house, Carole had already binned the newspapers. So he waited for Kurt to finish. He could hear the kid singing softly through the sound of the water, and he smiled. He stood in the middle of the room, not wanting to dirty anything and cause Kurt to yell at him. He put Finn's clothes on the bed and waited patiently, after a while, the sound of the water stopped and Kurt emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and framed in steam. It was like something out of a movie, he looked beautiful, ethereal, he was lean and graceful and his stomach was pure muscle, his chest was hairless although there was a light dusting of hair on his lower stomach, leading down under the towel. His skin was pale, his hair wet and spiked, which showed off his cheekbones and that delicate face which framed his now blue eyes. The legs that he could see were slender and flexible, a dancer's legs. Kurt placed the hand that wasn't holding the towel on his hip as he shifted uncomfortably

'Stop drooling Noah, bathroom's free' he said, breaking the jock out of his trance where he was staring at Kurt unashamedly. He grabbed Finn's clothes and dashed into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Kurt watched him go and then pulled out his pyjamas and dressed, rubbing the towel on his hair when he was done. Then he set to his vigorous moisturising routine, dabbing at his delicate skin and applying his various creams as they were needed. Trying not to think about the fact that a very naked Noah was only a few feet away. He heard the shower starting up again and as he picked up another tub of moisturiser he smiled slightly despite himself. He was being an idiot, he knew, and he used the mirror to school his expression to one of perfect indifference. Noah was just being nice, that was all. . . admittedly this was unusual in of itself but still, there was no need to read into things that weren't there, he'd been through that before with Finn and that had only ended badly. So he pushed away the pleasant fluttering in his midriff and firmly convinced himself that it was only because Noah was hot. He thought back to their 'date' if indeed it had been that; the flirting and the loaded glances and the comfortable pauses, and after, when Noah had let Kurt break down and use his shirt as a snot-rag without comment. Without judgement. Noah was a good friend, Kurt thought, cementing that idea in his brain, a good _friend_ that he didn't want to lose. He turned to smile as Noah emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed in clothes that fit oddly, they weren't either too small or too big, because although Finn was taller, Noah was broader and so the clothes fit, just not _well. _Plus they weren't exactly fashionable, a pair of ripped denim jeans and a plain black t-shirt that rode up when Noah stretched, exposing his tanned, muscled stomach. Kurt kept his mouth firmly closed and his eyes firmly on Noah's.

'If you leave your clothes here I'll wash them for you and give them back tomorrow' he said, Noah nodded in agreement and sat down on the bed, waiting patiently while Kurt turned back to his vanity mirror

'What's with all the face goop Hummel?' he asked good naturedly as Kurt slathered on another layer of cream, the counter-tenor glared at him in the mirror

'It's moisturiser' he said as if he was talking to an alien … or an idiot 'it stops me from ageing prematurely. What with all the stress I have in my life I have to keep frown lines at bay' Noah snorted

'Right, whatever' he said with a grin 'your skin is perfect and you know it', Kurt removed the headband and spun in his chair to face the jock with a raised eyebrow

'Perfect, huh?' he said sardonically a faint quirk of his lips.

Noah fumbled, making Kurt's grin bigger

'Well yeah' he managed 'I mean it's all soft and white and … pretty, and when you blush you go pink, or if you're _really _embarrassed you go red, even your ears but if you're upset you go all blotchy, so I guess the trick is to never be upset and you'll always be … pretty' Noah was blushing himself as he relayed this information and Kurt smiled, both at the compliment and at the honesty with which he gave it, this wasn't harmless flirting any more, this was truth, and it scared Kurt as much as it excited him

'You noticed all that?' Noah just nodded. Touched as he was, the counter-tenor didn't want to make things awkward, what with the tentative friendship they had built over the past few days, so he cleared his throat and affected an exaggerated air 'Well aren't you sweet?' he said, he stood and positioned himself so that he was facing Noah where he sat, hands on his hips and legs slightly apart. 'You know' he said with a flirtatious smile 'I still owe you for dinner' he lowered his voice to what he hoped was a husky, sexy tone 'I believe you earned your … reward'

'Oh yeah?' Noah said, licking his lips, a playful glint in his eye, as well as something else that Kurt couldn't quite determine 'and what would that be?' Kurt stepped forwards so he was almost standing over Noah in his blue silk pyjamas, the top three buttons undone, exposing the milky skin of his chest, but in that moment, Kurt wasn't self conscious, he felt desirable. He leaned forwards, bending double without changing his posture at all, to show off his flexibility, not caring that his top fell forwards, showing Noah his entire chest if the jock lowered his gaze a mere few inches; he was almost nose to nose with Noah and they stayed that way for what seemed like a long time but was really only a few seconds

'Guess' Kurt answered it the same, sultry voice. Noah raised one hand and placed it on Kurt's cheek, the boy almost flinched but managed to control the reflex action, he leaned into the touch as Noah stroked the creamy, still slightly slick skin with his thumb. They both seemed to realise at the same time that they were crossing the line into dangerous territory, this wasn't just jokey flirting, Noah dropped his hand and Kurt straightened up and one of them cleared his throat loudly

'I'll walk you to the door' Kurt said gracefully, Puck nodded and followed him up the stairs to the hallway. Kurt opened the door for him and he stepped out onto the path, he turned around, feeling that he had to say something, Kurt was leaning on the door jamb, the picture of nonchalance, but he straightened when Puck met his eyes

'I had a really nice time tonight Noah' he said 'Thank you' Puck nodded

'Me too, aside from the whole mental-breakdown thing' he replied with a grin, Kurt flushed

'Sorry' he apologized, looking genuinely contrite, Puck shook his head and gestured with his hand to show that he didn't really mind

'All that stuff you said' he ventured 'about your mom' Kurt lowered his gaze 'I'm sorry'

'It's okay' Kurt said 'it was a long time ago'

'Must have been hard' he persisted, Kurt shrugged

'Goodnight Noah' Puck heard the dismissal in his tone and turned away once more, he took two steps then stopped and turned again

'Kurt' he called

'Yeah'

'This was a date, right?' he threw in a little sarcasm to ease the desperation of his tone, Kurt laughed 'Sure Noah' he said 'it was a date'

'Good', he went to turn once more but hesitated

'What's wrong?' the counter-tenor asked, concerned

'Well' Puck said, drawing the word out, slipping back into the easy, flirty voice 'I was just thinking that since I bought dinner, and dessert, and helped you repaint the door...'

'...And repainted my coveralls, yes?' Kurt added, amused

'Yeah' Kurt waited, and then sighed, a long-suffering sigh

'What do you want Noah?' he asked

Puck paused, debating whether he should or not, then he threw caution to the wind, strode forwards, grabbed Kurt's face and gently pressed their lips together. Before the shock wore off, so he would be spared his friend's reaction, he pulled back, spun on his heel and ran to his car where he started the engine and drove off, leaving a stunned Kurt in the doorway.

A few seconds later, Kurt touched his lips and chuckled, expression soft; before he retreated back into the warmth of the house, shutting the blood-red door behind him.

**So ... there you go ... a little bit of fluff to whet your appetites ;) do you like? I'm trying to keep the relationship as mainly friends for now and keep building on it. I don't want it to seem too fast.**

**Please let me know what you think, you guys are my lifeline and I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Love Tibbins xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello patient people,**

**My practical theatre exam is OVER and it actually went WELL :D So I'm free to write ^.^**

**So here you go :) thanks for waiting for me people **

**I don't own Glee blah, blah**

**This chapter is dedicated to LilDevyl for your idea**

**Enjoy ^.^**

The next morning Kurt dressed quickly and banged loudly on Finn's door

'Finn! We're going to be late!' he yelled, not ceasing his knocking until he received a grunt from inside the room,

'You say that every morning' was the sullen reply

'Because it's always true!' he yelled back 'now get up!' he then flitted away downstairs, turning the stove on and taking the bacon out the fridge

'Here honey, I'll do that' Carole said as she came into the kitchen, she took the bacon from Kurt and ushered him to the table

'Carole? You've usually left by now' Kurt said surprised

'Maureen swapped shifts with me' Carole said 'She had her sister's wedding to go to, so I'm going in tomorrow and I have today off' she smiled and flipped the bacon over in the pan, then she grabbed another pan and started on the eggs 'You don't usually want bacon for breakfast Kurt' she said.

'Yeah' Kurt said, glancing around to make sure Finn and Burt weren't about to burst in 'I just think it's gonna be an 'I need bacon' day.' Carole just looked at him, eyebrow raised before serving his breakfast 'Don't tell dad' Kurt begged 'but I'm still kind of … about the door thing' he took his fork and then poked the bacon with it, suddenly not hungry anymore 'I mean I won't let it get to me y'know, it's just that this is my _home_ and they have no respect for any sort of privacy and it just annoys me I guess' Carole nodded and sat down with her own plate

'I know it's hard sweetie' she said 'I know that this isn't the first time and I know that it hurts. And it's even a bit scary, right?'

'They don't scare me' said Kurt, stabbing at his egg 'it's just annoying'

'Uh huh' Carole replied, not convinced 'So the fact that they're showing you that they know where you live, and can spray paint the door and get away with it, that doesn't scare you?'

'They won't go too far' Kurt said quietly 'they never do' Carole reached across the table and patted her step-son's hand

'It's okay to be scared Kurt' she said softly 'if you ever want to talk, about anything. And you feel like you're dad will over-react or not understand then I'm here for you sweetie.' Kurt squeezed her hand back and smiled

'Thanks Carole' he said

'No problem' was the reply 'now, can you please eat something?' Kurt grinned and took a forkful of bacon and egg and stuffed it in his mouth just as Finn came into the kitchen still in his pyjamas, yawning and scratching his hair. Kurt swallowed

'Finn, you look like a gorilla' he said. Carole snorted and Finn just looked bemused 'why aren't you dressed yet?'

''M hungry' mumbled Finn sitting down and pulling his own breakfast towards him 'I used up all my energy getting out of bed' Kurt rolled his eyes 'Can I drive again today?' Kurt smiled playfully

'No way!' he said 'You've had her for the past couple of weeks, my baby misses me' he took a final bite and stood, grabbing the car keys on the side and heading for the door. He felt like driving today. He hadn't in a while but he felt better. He was refusing to dwell on the kiss and whether or not it meant anything because it didn't really matter. He and Noah were great flirts, and that may result in a quick peck on the lips. Which was all it was, he told himself firmly.

'Ready in ten Finn!' he called, pocketing the keys and going downstairs to grab his bag. On his way back up the stairs he heard a knock at the door. Kurt froze for a second. Then shook himself and went to answer it. It was Noah

'Hey good-lookin' greeted the jock 'do you and Finn want a lift?' Kurt smiled and stepped back to let Noah in.

'Sure' he said 'But Finn just got up so he may be a while, you know how slow he is in the mornings'

'Replace the word 'mornings' with any other time at all and that would still be true' Noah said as he watched Finn shuffle back to his room 'Hey Finn!' the quarterback turned, confused at the voice 'I'm giving you a lift, you have five minutes or me and Kurt are leaving without you.' Finn just nodded and shuffled a little faster, Kurt and Noah went out to Noah's truck and threw their bags (and themselves) in.

Kurt took the seat in the middle to make it easier for Finn to just hop in, but he had to admit that he was glad he had. He could smell Noah's cologne (which wasn't too much, some guys seem to just bathe in the stuff) and he could feel the tanned muscular arm brushing against his own. He smiled to himself

'You smell good today Noah' he said conversationally. Noah looked at him

'Thanks' he chuckled 'You _look_ good today' he winked. Kurt flipped his hair dramatically

'Oh, Noah, always so shallow. You have to see beyond my dazzling looks' he said loftily

'Hard to do' he replied with a grin, he then held up his hand to his eyes 'I'm too dazzled'

Kurt laughed and patted Noah on the arm

'Good one' he said. There was a comfortable pause 'So' Kurt said after a while 'Why did you decide to come pick us up today?'

Noah shifted slightly in his seat

'Do I have to have a reason to want to see you?' he teased. Kurt blushed despite himself

'I suppose not'

There was another pause

'So about that kiss' Noah said, staring straight ahead of him out of the window, Kurt started and looked around at the jock

'What about it?'

'What did it mean to you?'

Kurt just gaped

'Errr …' he managed, brilliantly

Noah shook his head and smiled (sadly?) at Kurt

'It's okay' he said 'me too'

And before Kurt could ask what on earth that meant, Finn came running out of the newly-red front door, bag banging against his leg and he threw himself into the truck, squashing Kurt against Noah who just laughed and started the engine.

**So ... what do you think? I have a feeling that I changed my style slightly halfway through, hope it worked xD**

**Please review and tell me any opinions/ideas you have I really appreciate all feedback (all my reviewers are at some point mentioned on my profile) and I am eternally grateful to you all**

**Love you all**

**Love Tibbins xx**


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